Kikuyu (language)

Kikuyu
Spoken in	Kenya
speaker	8 million (2005)
Linguistic ; classification	Niger Congo Languages Benue Congo languages Bantu languages Kikuyu ;
Official status
Official language in	-
Language codes
ISO 639 -1	ki
ISO 639 -2	kik
ISO 639-3	kik

Kikuyu (own name: Gĩkũyũ , pronunciation: [ ɣekojo ]) is a Bantu language that is widespread in Kenya and is spoken by around 5.5 million people.

Kikuyu is spoken in the area between Nyeri and Nairobi . Kikuyu is one of the five languages of the Thagichu language group spoken in the area from Kenya to Tanzania . The Kikuyu language includes several dialects that are mutually understandable, including Ndia , South Kikuyu , Mathira , Gichugu, and North Kikuyu . The language is very similar in vocabulary to the Embu and Kamba , which belong to the same Guthrie group E20. The writer and candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o writes his novels in Kikuyu.

Web links

Wikipedia on Kikuyu